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Noctua NF-B9 Review

Testing:

The most unique features of this fan in terms of performance, are its claims of having a low noise signature, and having decent airflow and static pressure for its relatively low rotational speed.

I decided that testing the fan with no resistance would not be all that meaningful, and difficult to quantify in measurements. So I devised a testing setup that would let me compare the fans ability to provide sufficient airflow in a demanding scenario.

Heatsinks without heatpipes rely solely on forced air to remove the heat from the fins. The Thermalright SLK-948u is one such heatsink.

This heatsink is pure copper and the fins are arranged very closely together.

The largest fan size that the heatsink can take is 92mm; the fan clips (not pictured) allow either 25mm or 38mm thick fans to be secured in place.

If the fan can provide sufficient static pressure through the tightly packed fins, it will result in good cooling of the heatsink. Also, noise levels can be observed with the fan in a real world situation.

Testing Setup:

Processor: AMD X2 3800+ 10x200

CPU Cooling: Thermalright SLK-948u

CPU Fan(s): Noctua NF-B9

Motherboard: DFI NF4 Ultra-D

Memory: 2x1GB G.Skill HZ PC4000 3-4-4-8-1T

Video Card: NVidia 7500LE 256MB

Power Supply: Thermaltake Purepower 480W

Hard Drive: Seagate 120GB 7200.7 IDE

OS: Windows XP Professional SP2

Comparison CPU Fans:

CPU Fan: Thermaltake A9225L12S

CPU Fan: Panaflo FBA09A12M

CPU Fan: Jamicon JF0925H1MSAR

CPU Fan: Zalman RDH9025B

CPU Fan: Thermaltake F129025BH

CPU Fan: Vantec TD8038H

Brand

Manufacturer

Model

Bearing

Speed

Static Pressure

Air Flow

Noise

RPM

mm-H2O

CFM

dBA

Thermaltake

VetteCorp

A9225L12S

Sleeve

2000

1.59

36.78

30

Noctua

Noctua

NF-B9-1600

SSO (Oil Pressure)

1600

1.61

37.8

17.6

Panaflo

NMB-Mat

FBA09A12M

Hydro Wave

2450

2.79

48

30

Jamicon

Kaimei

JF0925H1MSAR

Sleeve (HTLS)

2500

2.92

46.31

32

Zalman

Qwikflow

RDH9025B

Ball

2800

3.34

54.63

32.96

Thermaltake

Everflow

F129025BH

2 Ball

2850

3.98

56

35

Vantec

Vantec

TD8038H

Double Ball

4800

16.76

119

56.4

Overclocking:

Overclocked settings:

CPU: 9x303=2728 MHz, 1.375v x 110% = 1.5125v

As well as stock voltage and speed on the CPU, I tested the highest stable CPU overclock for a higher heatload for the fans to deal with.